Revision as of 01:17, 21 September 2013

WARNING: The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs advise against all travel to North Korea due to the uncertain security situation caused by North Korea’s nuclear weapons development program and highly repressive and unpredictable regime.There is no resident Canadian or US government office in the DPRK. The ability of officials to provide consular assistance is extremely limited. (19 May 2013)

North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) is a country in East Asia occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula that lies between Korea Bay and the East Sea (Sea of Japan). It borders China to the north, Russia to the north east and South Korea to the south.

Tourist travel to North Korea is only possible as part of a guided tour. Independent travel is not permitted. If you are not prepared to accept severe limitations on your movements, behaviour, and freedom of expression, you should not travel to North Korea.

Understand

History

Prehistory and founding of a nation

Archaeological finds of prehistoric toolmaking on the Korean Peninsula date back to 70,000 BC with the first pottery found around 8000 BC. Comb-pattern pottery culture peaked around 3500-2000 BC.

Legend has it that Korea began with the founding of Gojoseon (also called Ancient Chosun) by the legendary Dangun in 2333 BC. Archeological and contemporaneous written records of Gojoseon as a kingdom date back to around 7th-4th century BC. Gojoseon was eventually defeated by the Chinese Han Dynasty and it's territories were governed by four Chinese commanderies, but this did not last long. Natives of the peninsula and Manchuria soon reclaimed the territory, namely the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje. The Goguryeo Kingdom (or Koguryo) ruled the entire area of modern North Korea, as well as parts of Manchuria and the northern parts of modern South Korea. Buddhist and Confucian teachings were prominent in the Goguryeo Kingdom, which adopted Buddhism as the state religion in 372. Despite repeated attempts by China, namely the Sui Dynasty and later the Tang Dynasty, to conquer the Korean Peninsula, northern-based Goguryeo managed to repel them. Eventually, Goguryeo fell to a Silla-Tang alliance, which had earlier defeated Baekje. This unified Korea under the Silla dynasty. Even though Tang later invaded, Silla forces managed to drive them out, thus maintaining Korea's independence.

Unified Silla was replaced by the Goryeo (also called Koryo) dynasty, from which the modern name "Korea" derives. One highlight of the Goryeo dynasty was that in 1234 the world's first metal movable type was invented by a Korean named Choe Yun-ui (200 years before Gutenberg's printing press). Goryeo was replaced by the Joseon (also called Chosun) dynasty, after a coup by one of its generals. The Joseon dynasty ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910, being one of the longest actively ruling dynasties in world history. It was during the early part of the Joseon dynasty that Korean technological inventions such as the world's first water clock, ironclad ship, and other innovations took place. During the rule of King Sejong the Great, the world's first rain gauge was invented and the Korean alphabet known as hangul was created.

Buddhist learning spread during this time and the former Baekje and Goguryeo leaders were treated well. The kingdom saw relative peace until the 8th and 9th centuries when clan leaders led uprisings and toppled the Silla, establishing the Goryeo Dynasty from which the name "Korea" was derived by Westerners. During this period, the nation suffered Mongol invasions, which led to unrest and the eventual establishment of the Joseon Dynasty in 1389.

Joseon Dynasty

The Joseon Dynasty was one of the longest running dynasties in the world, ruling from 1389 until 1910. King Sejong the Great's rule was especially celebrated, as he helped create the Korean script, choson'gul, which allowed even the commoners to become literate. He also expanded the nation's military power to drive out Japanese pirates and northern nomads and regain territories that had been lost. Korean culture developed rapidly and flourished during the Joseon Dynasty until it was attacked by the Japanese in the 16th century and then attacked twice by China, which resulted in severed relations with Japan and Korea becoming a Chinese tributary state. In spite of its losses, the nation experienced about 200 years of peace, and its isolationist policies allowed it to further develop a uniquely Korean culture and identity.

Rapid modernization stirred by the Second Industrial Revolution created tension between China and Japan as they felt the pressures of Western expansionism, each wanting to extend their influence over Korea. This eventually led to the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, which took place on the Korean Peninsula, devastating the Joseon. Then in 1905, Japan defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, making Korea a protectorate until they were finally able to annex Korea in 1910.

Japanese occupation and a divided Korea

The Japanese exercised rule of the peninsula until their defeat in World War II in 1945. Japan was forced to surrender the territory and the Allied Powers divided the nation at the 38th Parallel, with the Soviet Union occupying the northern half and the United States occupying the southern half. The divide was supposed to be temporary, however, the political struggle between the two nations to gain influence over the unified Korea led each to establish governments within their newly created territories. North Korea was established as its own nation in 1948, following the Soviet Communist model, with Kim Il-Sung as its leader.

Conflicts between the North and South were common in the early years and the tension came to a head in 1950 when North Korea launched an invasion of South Korea, starting the Korean War. The South was backed by the United States and the United Nations. The North was backed by the Soviet Union, and China later. The US/UN effort was able to drive North Korea all the way up near the Chinese border, then the Chinese sent in their army and the war continued. The US carpet bombing killed 1.5 million Koreans and an armistice was signed in 1953, maintaining the original borders set prior to the war. Because no treaty has been signed since the armistice, the nations are officially still at war.

Modern North Korea

With the nation in a shambles after the war, Kim Il-Sung launched a campaign to unite the people by defaming the United States with Soviet support and purging the nation of dissidents and anyone thought to oppose him. He sided with China during the Sino-Soviet Split on Communist philosophy because he disliked Krushchev's reforms. He began to praise the Soviet Union once again when China underwent its Cultural Revolution, straining relations with both neighbours. Consequently, he developed his own ideology, Juche (self-reliance), to create the sort of Communism he wanted for his nation. Throughout his life he added to and clarified the Juche ideology in order to justify his governing decisions.

The Korean War not only divided the people, but it also divided the labour force. When the peninsula was united, North Korea had most of the nation's industries while South Korea was the agricultural centre. This divide allowed North Korea to initially bounce back faster than the South in the rebuilding process. The Soviet Union then funded agricultural efforts in the North, in accordance with the Communist model. This system began to unravel in the late 1970s and 1980s as the Soviet system began to falter. With the end of Soviet aid in 1991 it became impossible to continue to supply sufficient fuel, fertilizer and equipment. After so many years of government mismanagement and severe floods, the North's agricultural system collapsed in the mid-1990s leading to widespread famine and death for countless North Koreans. Kim Il-Sung died in 1994 while the nation tried to deal with the crisis, slowing government response as the new leader Kim Jong-Il inherited his father's position.

The North finally allowed international relief agencies to assist and the worst aspects of the famine were contained. However the DPRK continues to rely heavily on international food aid to feed its population while at the same time continuing to expend resources on its "songun", or "military first" policy, which Kim Jong-Il introduced and used in conjunction with his father's Juche ideology (which he "interpreted").

Today the DPRK maintains an army of about one million men, most stationed within a few miles of the DMZ which divides the two Koreas. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, Kim Jong-Il reneged on a 1994 "Agreed Framework" signed by his father which required the shut down of its nuclear reactors, expelling UN monitors and further raising fears that the nation would produce nuclear weapons. Missile testing was conducted in 1998, 2006, April 2009 and most recently May 2013. In October 2006 North Korea announced that it had conducted its first nuclear test. These actions have led to UN and other international sanctions.

Current negotiations, most notably the "Six-Party Talks" involving China, Russia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the United States, are aimed at bringing about an end to the DPRK nuclear weapons program, in hopes that a peace treaty to officially end the Korean War may finally be agreed upon, paving the way for the opening of diplomatic ties between North Korea and the United States. Unfortunately, in March 2010, a South Korean ship was sunk near the 38th parallel, increasing tensions between North and South Korea. Although North Korea claims not to have attacked the ship, the blame has largely been placed on North Korea.

The death of Kim Jong-Il on 17 Dec 2011 has created many feelings of uncertainty as the world waits to see how the transfer of power will affect the nation. North Korea has also developed miltary armored vehicles since the war such as the Pokpung-ho (Storm Tiger) (M-2002), the Type 85 (YW531H), and the Chonma-ho (Pegasus)(all of which were made and developed by North Korea after the Soviet Union fall)

People

In North Korea, the vast majority of people are Korean. Because of the lack of immigration, North Korea is one of the most ethnically homogeneous nations on earth. At any one time, there are a few hundred foreigners to be found, however, most of them are tourists.

Climate

The climate is generally classed as continental, with rainfall concentrated in summer. Summer months are warm, but winter temperatures can fall as low as -30 degrees C. Late spring droughts are often followed by severe flooding. There are occasional typhoons during the early Autumn.

Terrain

Mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys. The coastal plains are wide in the West; discontinuous in east. The mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated.

Read

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, Barbara Demick. An excellent book recounting the lives of six North Koreans who managed to defect and find their way to South Korea. Provides a compelling picture of the miseries and occasional beauty in the lives of ordinary North Koreans during the famine of the 90s. ISBN 0385523912

Eyes of the Tailless Animals: Prison Memoirs of a North Korean Woman by Soon Ok Lee.
First-hand accounts of the prison system within North Korea

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden

The Aquariums of Pyongyang, by Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot: An account of the imprisonment of Kang Chol-Hwan and his family in the Yodok concentration camp in North Korea.

Other destinations

Kumgangsan — the scenic Diamond Mountains, accessible on tours from the South

Myohyangsan — the Mysterious Fragrant Mountain is one of the North's best hiking spots

Paektusan — the tallest mountain in Korea and the Kim dynasty's mythical birthplace

Panmunjom — the last outpost of the Cold War in the DMZ between South and North

Get in

Visiting North Korea can be challenging, and you will not have the freedom to explore the country without a North Korean escort, either as part of a group or individual tour.

Citizens of South Korea are normally not permitted to visit North Korea. In addition, there have been reports of difficulties regarding Israeli, American and Japanese nationals. In January 2010, North Korea lifted the restrictions on American citizens who are now free to visit at any time of the year - but they are not allowed to travel by train (especially the train to Beijing) or to participate in homestay-programs (Choson Exchange and The Pyongyang Project are able to bring Americans into the country by train). Contrary to rumour, Israelis and Jewish citizens of other countries do not face any additional restrictions. Citizens of all countries (except Malaysian passport holders entering for 30 days or less for official, business or tour purposes who have already acquired documentation at the DPRK Embassy in Kuala Lumpur showing, North Korean business counterparts or tour and travel agency arrangements) will need a visa, which will only be issued after your tour has been booked, approved by the North Korean authorities and paid for. Journalists (or those suspected of being journalists) require special permission, which is quite difficult to obtain. The North Koreans do not allow journalists to visit the country on tourist visas. A specialist North Korean travel agency can help you sort out the complex and ever-changing regulations. North Korea will rarely in practice refuse a visa to a tourist who meets the various requirements.

Tourists often arranged a tourist visa through booking a tour with the travel agencies that organise such tours. The travel agencies will usually deal with the visa on their behalf, although in some cases tourists are required to have a short telephone interview with the North Korean embassy in order to verify their identity and their job. In most case the interview are conducted in a friendly matter so it is nothing to worried about. Visas are often only confirmed on the day before the tour, but rarely will a tourist ever get rejected (unless you show that you are of political status or being a journalist).

North Korean tourists visas are often issued on a tourist card. If joining a tour group, group visas are often issued on separate sheets of papers containing all the members of the group, attached with a tourist card that bear the name of the tour leader. This visa is never held by the tourists, although tourists can ask to take a photo of the visa themselves. In both case, no stamp will be put onto the passport. The only way where a visa and entrance stamp will be put on the passport is when the visa is issued in European embassies, which is very rare for tourists to visit North Korea as most travel agencies operate tours out of China (and hence only arranged the visa in China.)

Tours

North Korea can only be visited by an organised tour, but this can be a large group or a party of one. Prices start from around $1000/€700/£580 for a 5-day group tour including accommodation, meals and transport from Beijing, but can go up considerably if you want to travel around the country or "independently" (as your own one-person escorted group). Tour operators/travel agencies that organise their own tours to North Korea include:

No matter which company you decide to book with, all tours are run by the Korean International Travel Company (with the exception of a few, such as Choson Exchange and The Pyongyang Project who both work directly with various government ministries and domestic DPRK NGOs) and it will be their guides who show you around. The average number of tourists per group each company takes will vary considerably so you may want to ask about this before booking a trip.

Most people travelling to North Korea will travel through Beijing and you will probably pick up your visa from there (some agents arrange their visas elsewhere beforehand though). The North Korean consulate building is separate from the main embassy building at Ritan Lu, and can be found round the corner at Fangcaodi Xijie. It's open M/W/F; 09:30-11:30 plus 14:00-17:30 and Tu/Th/Sa only 09:30-11:30. Bring your travel permission, US$45 and two passport photos.

Your guides will take your passport and keep it during your stay in North Korea, or at least for the first couple of days of your tour, for "security reasons" (or simply because your entry and exit dates must be registered - the black stamps on the back of your visa or passport). Make sure your passport looks decent and doesn't differ from the most common passports from your country.

Visa-free entry from South Korea

There is one place in North Korea that can be visited without needing any kind of North Korean visa:

{Until 2009, visa-free - actually, special group visa - tours were possible to two other places in North Korea — however, all travel from the ROK to these DPRK locations has been terminated as a result of the 2008 killing of South Korean tourist Park Wang Ja by a DPRK soldier in 2008. (All assets held by the former South Korean operators of these tourist facilities in the North were seized by the DPRK régime in 2011.)

The two tours, that have been suspended until further notice, were:

Kaesong (Gaeseong) - was open to day-long group bus tours from Seoul organized by Hyundai Asan.

Kumgangsan (Geumgangsan) - was accessible by group bus tours from South Korea organized by Hyundai Asan. There were daily buses from Seoul to Hwajinpo, the marshalling area for tourists, who then went by special buses through the DMZ to Kumgang. Tours were normally 2 days and 1 night, or more appropriately for foreign travellers, 3 days and 2 nights.)

Both locations were accessible to Americans, South Koreans, and most other nationalities}

Hyundai Asan was planning to open up tours to Paektusan (Baekdusan), called Changbaishan on the Chinese side of the border, involving a charter flight from Seoul to Samjiyeon near Mt. Paektu, with the rest of the tour by bus and on foot. These never materialised though, so your options are to visit the Chinese side of the mountain (no special permits required) or add it as an expensive add-on to a standard North Korea tour.

By plane

North Korea's sole airline, Air Koryo, currently has scheduled flights from Beijing, which depart at 11:30 every Tuesday and Saturday, and return from Pyongyang at 09:00 on the same days. Air Koryo also flies to and from Shenyang every Wednesday and Saturday, and to Vladivostok every Tuesday morning.

Air Koryo is the only one star airline on Skytrax's list [12] which has more to do with the airline not paying Skytrax membership than an extremely bad level of service, as reviews confirm. Such categorization must be take with a grain of salt. To date, Air Koryo has only had one incident resulting in death, in Africa in 1983. The Air Koryo fleet consists largely of Soviet-made aircraft built between 1965 and 1990, plus the pride of their fleet, a 2008 Tupolev Tu-204, which now usually handles the core Beijing–Pyongyang route but has been known to fly the Pyonyang-Shenyang route. Otherwise, you'll most likely end up on one of their four Ilyushin IL-62-Ms (1979-1988 vintage), but Air Koryo also flies Tu-154s dating back to the seventies and Tu-134s from 1983.

The only other airline with scheduled service to North Korea is Air China, a member of the Star Alliance, which flies three times weekly from Beijing to Pyongyang. Neither Aeroflot nor China Southern continue to fly to North Korea.

By train

Train K27/K28 connect Pyongyang to Beijing in China via Tianjin, Tangshan, Beidaihe, Shanhaiguan, Jinzhou, Shenyang, Benxi, Fenghuangcheng, Dandong and Shinuiju four times a week. There is only one class on the international train between Beijing and Pyongyang: soft sleeper. It can be booked at the station in Beijing, but reservations must be made several days in advance. Your tour agency will usually do this for you, unless you are travelling on work purposes. It has been increasingly difficult to book space on the Beijing–Pyongyang route, so confirm your tickets well in advance.

Tourists from Dandong are often arranged to take the train from Dandong to Sinuiju (just across the Yalu River from Dandong), or a bus from Dandong to Sinuiju. North Korean officers come into the train to check the passport and give it to the tour guide. North Korean officers also do a manual check of the entire luggage, and will ask to look at some of the photos taken in North Korea. Tourists then change to a domestic train (sometimes a special tourist train with a/c) to travel from Sinuiju to Pyongyang. Returning from Pyongyang, tourists often take the domestic train (or again, the special tourist train) back to Sinuiju where they either buses to the border and take the bus back to Dandong or change back to the Dandong-Sinuiju train back to Dandong. Immigration procedures in the North Korean side are taken on the train or before boarding the bus.

There is also a direct rail link into Russia, crossing the North Korean/Russian border at Tumangan/Khasan. This route is served by a direct sleeping car Moscow - Pyongyang and vice versa and runs twice monthly (11th and 25th from Moscow), arriving Pyongyang 9 days later. However, since the mid-nineties this has not been an officially permitted route for tourists, and KITC refuses to organize trips using this route; two Western tourists have been successful in taking this train into North Korea, but report that further trips on this route would probably be unsuccessful.

Some agents can arrange to cross the border from Dandong to Sinuiju by minibus and then board a domestic North Korean train to Pyongyang. Usually you will be seated in a hard seat carriage with KPA soldiers and party workers travelling with their families. There is access to a restaurant car which stocks imported beers (Heineken) and soft drinks as well as some local beers and spirits. Taking photographs on this train is strictly forbidden. This train is supposed to take around 4 hours to reach Pyongyang but has been known to take as long as 14. If travelling in winter be prepared that temperatures inside the carriage can be as low as -10°C.

American and Japanese citizens are currently restricted from taking the train into and out of the DPRK due to poor bilateral relations. However, Choson Exchange and The Pyongyang Project have regularly received permission to allow US citizens to take the international train between Beijing and Pyongyang.

By boat

There is an unscheduled cargo-passenger ship between Wonsan and Niigata, Japan. Only available for use by some Japanese and North Korean nationals, the boat service has been suspended indefinitely due to North Korea's reported nuclear testing; Japan has banned all North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports, and has banned North Koreans from entering the country. Be careful about getting too close to the North Korean border in a boat; many South Korean fishermen are still waiting to leave North Korea.

Besides the unscheduled ferry there is also a cruise ship that operates between the coast of Northeastern China, and Mt. Kumgang. Joint operated by China and North Korea the cruise line uses a 40 year old ship. The cruise trip is 22 hours long at each leg, and is 44 hours long in total, but as a person outside of China you may not be allowed to go on the cruise to Mt. Kumgang.

By bus

A bus is theoretically available from Dandong, China, across the Yalu River to Sinuiju. It's run by the "Dandong China Travel Company" but is only open to Chinese citizens at present. You can also take a private bus from Dandong over the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge (the same bridge ove the Yalu river that the trains take) but it is booked through the travel company you are using to enter North Korea as part of the tour.

Get around

Typical highway scene in North Korea: tidy strands of trees with a large (and empty) patch of asphalt in between

All your transport needs will be dealt with by your tour company. Most of the time this means buses, although tour groups visiting remote sites (eg. Paekdusan, Mount Chilbo) occasionally use chartered flights by Air Koryo. Wandering around on your own is not allowed, and you are required to have a guide to escort you at all times.

A carefully stage-managed one-station ride on the P'yŏngyang metro [13] is included on the itinerary of most trips to Pyongyang, but use of any other form of local public transport is generally impossible.

If travelling in a small enough group it is also possible to organise a walk through some areas of Pyongyang with some travel agents (Koryo).

Talk

The official language is Korean. Note that North Koreans are quite picky about referring to Korean as Choseonmal, not hangungmal. Unlike South Korea, North Korea has abolished Chinese hanja characters and uses hangeul characters, known as Choseongul, exclusively.

Your guides will speak fairly decent and understandable English (some better than others) and will translate something if you wish. Other guides have the ability to speak both Korean and either Mandarin, German, Russian, Japanese, or Spanish, depending on where you come from.

Although locals may be discouraged from speaking with foreigners due to government propaganda that implies foreigners are generally up to no good, and language can prove to be an additional barrier, there is no formal law preventing citizens of the DPRK from interacting with tourists. A visit to the DPRK around their holidays may give you more of a chance to interact with the locals.

See

All tours are accompanied by a government minder, who will decide what you can and cannot see. From the moment you leave your hotel, expect to be accompanied by one or more minders. Besides ensuring that tourists do not stray outside of the designated tourist areas, their jobs include inspecting any photographs which they think do not portray North Korea or its government in a good light, and ordering photographers to delete them. It is generally advisable to listen to what your minder is saying, and agree with it. Asking awkward socio-political questions will result in vague, evasive replies at best, and several hours of interrogation at worst.

If you are uncertain about taking pictures anywhere, ask your guide. (Permission for subjects seems to vary wildly; you may get a guide that is relatively relaxed and will allow you to take pictures from a bus or within a city. On the other hand, you may get one that will strictly adhere to controlling where you take pictures restricting anything taken from a tour bus or of certain areas, like Pyongyang's city streets, in general. There is simply no way to tell until you are actually on a tour.) If you think a particular photograph might be embarrassing to the DPRK in general, ask or simply don't risk taking it at all.

Photography of military personnel is also generally prohibited. Again, if in doubt, ask your guide. However, there are instances where it is impossible not to photograph certain sites without including a few military personnel within the picture such as at Mansudae (the monument site for the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il) or at a local funfair. Reactions seem to vary between being ignored to curiosity, although you will be told where it is strictly prohibited from taking pictures (such as at certain areas of the DMZ) and the guards/soldiers there will react unfavourably to being photographed in general. Other areas where photographs are prohibited is inside the Friendship Exhibition displaying gifts from around the world to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and within the Kumsusan Memorial Palace.

The majority of sightseeing consists of visits to various war memorials, monuments to the Great Leader and the Workers Party of Korea, and numerous museums (mostly war-related, like the statues and monuments). The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a popular destination for most tour groups in North Korea.

Please note that whilst you are in North Korea, the prevailing viewpoint places blame on the Americans for starting the Korean War; disagreeing with this position is likely to cause problems for both you and your guide particularly as the two Koreas are still technically at war with only a cease-fire between them. Despite its misleading name, the DMZ is heavily guarded and dotted with minefields and other booby-traps. Under no circumstances must you stray from your group, or take any photographs of military installations. However, the "peace village" Panmunjom may be photographed, and boasts the world's third tallest flagpole.

Whilst on these guided tours, especially to the state museums and monuments, you will undoubtedly endure an ongoing barrage of propaganda, consisting largely of anecdotes about things that Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il did for their country. Some of these claims may seem bizarre and even amusing to the outsider; however, a straight face is generally advisable. It is generally safest to at least appear to take everything they say seriously, even if it contradicts everything you were ever taught in history class or defies even the most basic human reasoning.

Do

As mentioned above, there is very little to do beyond the watchful eye of your designated minder(s), with most recreational activity taking place within the confines of the tourist resorts. Bowling and karaoke are among the latest additions to its surprising abundance of recreational activities. The karaoke videos are often accompanied by dramatic historical footage of the Korean War, or goose-stepping People's Army soldiers.

Interestingly enough, North Korea has three amusement parks, two of which are abandoned due to mutual lack of interest and electricity. Sadly, the Kaeson Youth Fair has now closed, taking the infamous "Roller Coaster of Death" along with it. Still visible are the shooting-galleries with backdrops of snarling American and Japanese soldiers; however, it is unlikely that your guide will let you venture into any abandoned areas. The one remaining amusement park contains some rides which are actually quite modern and non-lethal, at least by North Korean standards, and is about as worthy of a visit as everything else you'll see whilst in North Korea.

The night life in Pyongyang is remarkably safe and non-violent, compared to the capitals of other nations (except maybe Reykjavik in Iceland). In general, the civilians are not a threat. The plain-clothes secret police, however, may or may not be a threat, depending on what you say or do. The North Korean definition of popular music is at least two decades behind the rest of the world; expect an onslaught of 80s hits from the West (some obviously are copies unauthorised by the original artistes, to judge by the quality), punctuated by the eerie caterwauling of Korean folk songs, and at least try to look enthusiastic about the whole scene. Fortunately, alcohol is cheap and plentiful, although it is not advisable to become intoxicated and make a scene of oneself. Furthermore, both the trafficking and consumption of narcotics are punished VERY severely by authorities; traffickers can expect to face the death penalty if caught.

Finally, please note that power cuts may hit without warning in the middle of any activity. Whilst you might welcome this if the jukebox is starting to get to you, this is not a desirable outcome if you are in the middle of an amusement-park ride, particularly as these blackouts can last for hours at a time.

Buy

In 2002 Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC) were abolished and along with them went all the different coloured currencies. Now there is just the standard North Korean won, which officially trades at approximately 100 per US$ or 140 per Euro (August 2013) but has the same symbol as the South Korean won: ₩. Black market rates (especially in far northern Korea, near the Chinese border) may easily be 20 times the official rate, but importing or exporting Korean won is strictly forbidden and life threateningly dangerous. Conversely, were you to sneak out some won, they are practically worthless outside the country, but make unique souvenirs.

In reality, foreigners are expected to use Euros or, as an alternative, Chinese RMB, US Dollars, or Japanese Yen. Getting the local money is possible, but it is difficult to use as many shops want foreign currency. Currency handling is often bizarre, with a frequent lack of change and a number of rule-of-thumb conversions leading to highly unorthodox transactions. So be sure to bring lots of small change. On the other hand, since you will already have paid in advance for your hotel, transportation, and meals, your only expenses will be bottled water, souvenirs, snacks, drinks at the bars, laundry at the hotel (which is as expensive as in Europe), and tips for your guides.

Prices will be given in won, and you'll then have to ask, "How much is this in Euro? And in Dollars?". In August 2012, Euro got you the best value for your money. Bring some small change, there's not always enough.

In any case, the only shops you will be likely allowed to visit are the state-run souvenir shops at your hotel and at the various tourist attractions. It is generally impossible to visit a real local shop which serves the local population, though you might get lucky asking your guide if he/she trusts you enough.

Souvenirs

Pyongyang store for foreigners

There are numerous hard-currency only souvenir shops at tourist sites. Interesting souvenirs include propaganda books and videos, postcards and postage stamps. At some tourist sites (such as King Kongmin's tomb), you can purchase freshly finished paintings with your name and the artist's name at the bottom. And if you are very lucky you might be able to get hold of some Socialist Realism paintings, although customs officials are not keen on these things going out of the country, so do beware.

On the tour to Kaesong tourists are warned not to purchase anything that could be construed as North Korean propaganda including any images of North Korean leaders such as stamps or postcards. No biographies or books are permitted back into South Korea. This is a South Korean restriction. It does not apply to border crossings with China. If you are leaving the country via flight to Beijing or train via Dandong you should encounter no problems bringing home any North Korean merchandise for your own personal enjoyment.

You are, however, allowed to buy post cards and send them to yourself in any country except South Korea which apparently will not deliver them.

Some excellent paintings on silk or linen were available in Kaesong directly from the artist. Haggling for price is not permitted but the prices are very low.

Costs

You will pay for most things up-front as part of your tour. Most sights have a shop associated with them where you can buy bottled water, souvenirs and snacks. These are reasonably priced. In August 2007, large bottles of local beer cost US$2 at the hotel bars in Pyongyang. If you haven't planned on spending money on gambling at the casino at Yanggakdo Hotel, €200 for one week should be enough to cover your costs of water, drinks at the bars, souvenirs and tips for the guides.

Eat

Despite severe food shortages in North Korea which have left millions dead, you will not have any problems getting food. Your guide will order all your food for you, and you will eat in hard-currency only restaurants. Vegetarians and people with food allergies/dislikes of common foods such as seafood or eggs will need to make arrangements in advance. A visit to a "real" local restaurant may be possible; enquire with your guide. Note that although your food is better than what the 95% of the population eats, it's still not necessarily great. Shortages combined with the typical use of Korean cooking styles mean that there is a relatively limited variety of food, which can get wearying on tours of more than a few days.

There are a few western food options now in Pyongyang and these restaurants can usually be visited if arranged with the guides in advance. They will usually require additional payment though (unless you have discussed this already with your tour operator) as the costs are not included in the per diem fee charged by the Korean Travel Company. There are 2 Italian restaurants (one on Kwangbok Street which is near the Korean circus where the pizza is great, and they have imported a pizza oven and all the ingredients so the quality is very high; and one near the USS Pueblo) and 2 burger restaurants (the more accessible is in the Youth Hotel). Both are inexpensive and do inject some flavour onto a generally lacklustre eating scene - especially on long tours! Visit the Vienna coffee house which is on the river side of Kim Jong Il square, for a pretty good coffee served like you would get in Europe.

Drink

The local speciality is insam-ju, Korean vodka infused with ginseng roots.
Locally made Taedonggang beer is very good--the brewery was purchased from Ushers in the UK and moved to Pyongyang--and some of the sojus are not bad either. Local alcohol is inexpensive; a 650 mL bottle of beer is €0.5. Imported beers, such as Heineken, are also available at similar prices. However do not get drunk and cause trouble. Toe the line and show respect, or you and your guide will face serious penalties.

Sleep

This is likely to be your principal expense while in North Korea. You may only stay at "designated tourist hotels", for which you will need to pay in hard currency. There may be discounts if you ask for lower class accommodation, if you are travelling as part of a group, or if it is low season (November – March). Costs for your tour, which will include accommodation, all sightseeing activities and meals, will range from US$70 to US$200 a day, depending on these factors.

Usually you pay for all your meals, hotel and Beijing–Pyeongyang journey to your tour operator before you leave. One week in high season at a four-star hotel will then cost something between €1300 and €1600, depending on your tour operator, but might get as low as €800 for one week.

Learn

Work

If you are interested in teaching in North Korea, you may find success by contacting the North Korean UN Mission in New York, or contacting a North Korean university directly. Your odds of success are, however, quite low: there is only a small team of 4 English Language Instructors dealing with teaching and teacher training, with a Project Manager leading the team of three, placed in Kim Il Sung University, Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies and Kim Hyung Jik University of Education.

Stay safe

WARNING: Under no circumstances are you to say anything that could be perceived as an insult to or critical of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Un, the Juche ideology, the Songun policy, the ruling Worker's Party of Korea, the North Korean government in general, or the citizens of North Korea. Simply avoid these topics if you can. Keep in mind that anyone can be an undercover government agent, so respond accordingly when this subject is at hand, always keep in mind you might be tested and pushed into admitting your real feelings on these subjects, whatever they may be. You and your guide are likely to face serious trouble but your guide will bear the worst. "In trouble" does not mean a slap on the wrist; North Korea is known for extremely harsh punishments which range (for the guides) from lengthy prison sentences to a lifetime of severe mistreatment, hard labour, or even torture by intelligence officers, while you are likely to be sentenced to a stay in a local prison or labour camp, deported, and banned from re-entering. Assume that you will be under surveillance at all times during your trip, and your hotel room will be bugged.

If you understand and follow the rules, this is one of the safest international trips you will ever take. Your guides are as interested as you are in making sure nothing happens on this trip. They will probably sit down and explain the rules ahead of time. Keep your mouth shut and you will be fine. You don't have to talk about how great the Kim family is, or praise songun or Juche; just be polite, nod, and bow when others do and there will be no problems.

Crime levels are practically zero, at least to tourists on a strictly controlled tour. However, pickpockets are the least of your worries. The authorities are very touchy, and you need to watch what you say and how you say it. South Korean's living standard and the economic reform in China are the most sensitive subjects and may make the authorities very angry. Just do what the guides do, praise every stop on your tour, and remember the golden rule, "If you have nothing good to say, don't say it at all." Also, the official policy is that you are not to wander around on your own.

You are expected to get permission and/or have a guide accompany you if you are leaving your hotel on your own. This will vary depending on what hotel you are in. The Yanggakdo Hotel is on an island in the middle of the Taedong River in Pyongyang. Therefore you can walk around the area a little more freely than if you are at the Koryo Hotel in the city centre. You should always be friendly and courteous to your guides and driver who will normally reciprocate by trusting you more and giving you more freedom.

For taking photographs, one needs to exercise restraint, caution and common sense. If you appear to be looking for negative images of North Korea, the guides will not be happy and will tell you to delete any questionable images. In particular, you are not to take photos of anything military, including personnel, or anything showing the DPRK in a bad light.

As noted before, your photographic freedom can largely depend on the type of guides that you are assigned and the rapport that you have with them. In a best case scenario, you can often take pictures without feeling as if you're trying to sneak them by anyone and without pressure capturing some truly unique images. If you are in an area that prohibits picture taking, you will also be informed of this and it is best to simply follow your guide's direction. When in doubt, always ask. Your guide might even want to try out your camera and take a picture of you for your collection.

In a worst case scenario, you can be expected to raise your camera at a reasonable speed, compose and take the picture, and lower the camera at a reasonable speed. Don't try to take pictures of anything that you have been told not to, such as military personnel or certain locales. This may call attention to yourself and the image you are trying to take and can result, whether justified or not, in your being told to delete the image.

Digital cameras are commonly inspected when leaving the country by train. A simple solution is to leave a memory card with innocuous snaps in the camera and file away any cards with ideologically dubious content.

If you are a person of Korean descent, don't ever, ever tell anyone in the country that you are Korean, as you may be easily suspected as a person from South Korea, and as a result you are most likely to experience severely harsh punishments as well as being mistaken for entering illegally. In July 2008, a South Korean woman was shot in Kumgangsan region by a North Korean soldier after wandering into a restricted area alone.

Drug trafficking can be punishable by death in North Korea, and even any consumption of narcotics can be fatal. Marijuana, however, is legal and often found growing freely alongside the road in North Korea.

Stay healthy

North Korea is one of the poorest countries in the world. As with other under-developed countries, the water is not always properly treated and there are reports of foreigners being hospitalized in the DPRK after drinking the water, so sticking to bottled water is highly recommended.

Medical facilities are clean, but very outdated and often suffer a lack of doctors who are actually healthy. If you fall ill you might be better off going to China for medical treatment. Contact your embassy or consulate in North Korea (if your country has one) for assistance. US citizens may contact the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang for advice if needed.When it comes to water, stick to bottled water,

Although North Korea is experiencing a food and hunger crisis, your guide will provide you the food and water you need.

Respect

It is important to emphasize that the government of the DPRK -- in particular the leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un -- are, publicly, very highly revered in North Korean culture. While slavish devotion is not expected from tourists, especially given that the Juche philosophy of the DPRK is specifically aimed at the Korean people only and is not applicable to foreigners, criticizing them in any way is highly offensive and illegal, and will get you and particularly your guides into trouble. It is not worth inadvertently threatening their lives by insulting their leaders.

Also, when in North Korea, it is advisable to refer to the country as the DPRK instead when discussing it with your guides. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and is the official name for the country reflecting their belief that the south (not capitalized) is occupied territory. Despite what the rest of the world may think, this is what they will refer to their country as. You will also notice this referenced in their literature in the same way (south Korea).

The DPRK has very strict laws about taking pictures though there are many great photographing opportunities around the country, particularly in cities such as Pyongyang. Again, this largely depends on the guides assigned to you and how relaxed they feel to trust that you won't do anything to embarrass them. While it may have been true in the past to "not look at" or "take pictures of" people in the DPRK, you may be also surprised to be able to take a picture of a wedding couple or of a grandmother taking their grandson out for a walk waving back. Also, do not take photographs of anything that could be of strategic importance (i.e. places with a soldier(s)/policemen in front of it) or of things that you been told specifically not to. Again, as emphasized before, always ask your guides if you are ever in doubt.

Bringing gifts such as cigarettes or Scotch whisky for the men, both guides and the driver, and chocolate or skin cream for female guides, is a nice gesture. Please be respectful toward your guides, especially since North Korean guides are known to occasionally take tourists whom they trust well enough to see other places and events in North Korea that they wouldn't ordinarily go to. This can also extend to how freely they may feel about your picture taking. Remember, they may be as curious about you as you are about them.

Most, if not all, tour groups to the DPRK are asked to solemnly bow and lay flowers on one or two occasions in front of statues of Kim Il Sung when visiting monuments of national importance. If you're not prepared to do this, do not even try to enter North Korea. Just be sure you always act in a respectful manner around images of the two leaders. This includes taking respectful photos of any image of them. When photographing statues, especially Mansudae, be sure to get the entire statue in the photo. Formal dress is also expected at important monuments such as Mansudae or in visiting the Kumsusang Memorial Palace.

Any trouble you cause as a tourist will likely be blamed on your tour guide's inability to control you, and he or she will bear the brunt of the penalties. Additionally, future tourists will be allowed less freedom and will face increased restriction on where they can visit and what they can photograph.

Other than your tour guide, you will likely not meet anyone else in your trip who speaks English; a few Korean words and phrases are a nice internationalist gesture.

Despite the sharp political differences, North and South Koreans generally share a common culture; the various tips in the South Korea article under respect (such as using two hands to pour drinks) will also help here.

Contact

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES

Dial: 02 382 7688 (Pyongyang number)

Phones

International calling is generally possible from hotels, though it is expensive (€2 per minute as of Feb 2012).

There is no international roaming available in North Korea. As of January 2013 with the availability of pre-paid SIM cards, mobile phones are no longer held by customs and can be brought by visitors into the country, but a local SIM must be purchased.

A 3G mobile phone network (Koryolink) was introduced in Pyongyang in 2008 and now covers the 42 largest cities. SIM cards and phones can be purchased at the International Communication Center in Pothonggang District, opposite the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, as well as Pyongyang airport and some hotels. For tourists, you will need to get a prepaid SIM card. The options are as follows:

Purchase a prepaid SIM card for €50. This gives you the SIM card to keep indefinitely for return visits, and includes a small amount (less than €30) of calling credit.

Rent a prepaid SIM card for two weeks for €50. This includes €30 of calling credit.

Rent a prepaid SIM card for one month for €75. This includes €55 of calling credit.

Your handset will need to be 2100MHz WCDMA compatible. Calling rates are €1.43 per minute to China and South East Asia; €0.68 per minute to Russia; €0.38 per minute to France and Switzerland; and €1.58 per minute to the U.K. and Germany. Do note that local calls (to North Korean numbers used by DPRK citizens) are generally not possible. Data plans are technically available but you will need to be a long-staying foreigner (not a tourist) to get approval for these.

When making international calls (either on a landline or mobile) you should assume a possibility of your calls being monitored, and act accordingly.

Internet

Internet facilities are limited, as few locals have permission to use it. There are no public internet cafes or business centres with web access in the hotels. Internet access is possible via the 3G network, and also through connections at some of the larger hotels, however if you are a tourist on a short stay visa it's unlikely you will be able to use these services in practice.

Those on an extended stay, or travelling for business, may be able to get on-line but this needs to be confirmed and arranged some days in advance. Advise your tour operator or inviting party of your requirements well ahead of time. As with anything else in North Korea, if you do obtain access you should assume it's possible for your traffic to be monitored, and use the Internet accordingly.

Cope

Few western countries have an embassy or consulate in North Korea. For many years the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang was the only western embassy, although today there are embassies for several European countries including the UK, Switzerland, Poland, Germany and Czech Republic.